WHAT IS ION?
ION is an Albany, New York based, statewide, redundant SONET fiber network connecting over 60 rural New York State communities and their surrounding areas to the Information Superhighway, and the many opportunities it provides. The increased bandwidth for transfer of information that ION will make available to rural and urban areas is a necessary component in order to compete in today’s world. ION will provide redundant access to telecommunications services, as well as advanced telecommunication services for businesses, educational institutions, health care providers, libraries, and governmental agencies.
Due to the mostly urban focus of existing network providers in the state of New York, connectivity to rural communities is still underdeveloped. Small Business is the number one economic contributor in New York State, and it is unrealistic to think that small business can survive in today’s marketplace without adequate and affordable connectivity. ION’s commitment to serving the rural communities is addressing and solving this issue. ION was founded on the vision and investment of the affiliates of thirteen (13) Independent Telephone service providers who have been supporting customers in rural upstate New York for over 1000 years collectively. The cooperative efforts of ION’s founding companies has allowed for the development of this advanced telecommunications network in New York. The network contains over 2,200 route miles of fiber, and is comprised of four diverse SONET rings stretching from Buffalo to Albany and south to New York City. In addition, the ION Network is connected to a network, owned by the Development Authority of the North Country, a New York State Authority, which operates the Open Access Telecom Network (OATN), adding an additional 500 miles of fiber network via two SONET rings with access from Syracuse to the Canadian Border along the western side of the North Country. Affordable wholesale services on the OATN include T-1, DS 3, OCx and Ethernet circuits.
ION’s state-of-the-art network was designed for:
1) NO DOWN TIME:
Geographic network diversity to ensure redundancy and no network downtime.
2) LOWER COST:
Available and affordable telecommunications access for all.
3) FUTURE GROWTH:
Ability to easily scale the size of the network for future growth and bandwidth requirements.
ION’s investors realized the value of living up to the potential need and opportunities this network could have, and ensured that the statewide network had access both nationally and internationally. Via its presence at 60 Hudson Street, New York City, ION allows for connectivity to over 190 national and international network providers, giving Small Business in rural New York State the ability to compete nationally and internationally.
ION’s carrier neutral approach allows all the service providers in New York to have better access to geographically redundant, affordable, and scalable network connectivity. This allows all of New York to have access to the latest in voice, broadband and video services.
The economic prosperity of the State of New York requires that all of its citizens, whether rural, suburban, or metropolitan, have ubiquitous access to affordable, fast, redundant and scalable communications services.